East Asia Unit
Global Studies
Ancient Chinese have invented a lot of things that we still use today.
An English science historian Bernard said, “For many centuries China was one of the
great centers of human civilization and science.”
Directions:
China has a long list of accomplishments, and inventions. Students will present their
knowledge of ancient Chinese achievements.
1. Students should create a presentation (using Google drive) that visually
illustrates their knowledge of ancient Chinese achievements. Students will be
assigned only ONE of the dynasties discussed in class, and will present their
information to the class.
2. One student from the group should create a Google slide presentation and then
share the presentation with the other group partners. Students will share
their Google Slides presentation: lflexon@rtmsd.net
3. Please name your presentation Period __________ and the name of your assigned
Dynasties. On the first slide you can list the names of all of the group members.
4. Students should include images of all of the main events, facts, inventions, and
accomplishments listed below.
a. The presentation should have at least one image for each point listed.
b. A brief written descriptions of each item and why it is/was significant.
Group One: The first three dynasties are grouped into one project.
Xia Dynasty
 Map & approximate years in power
 Legend of the Emperor and how he came to power
Shang Dynasty
 Map & approximate years in power
 1st written language in China- 3,000 characters. Legacy?
 Accurate Calendar
Zhou Dynasty
 Map & approximate years in power
 Establishment of the Mandate of Heaven- Significance/Legacy?
 Two other interesting facts about the dynasty
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Group Two:
Qin Dynasty
 Map & approximate years in power
 Emperor & his reputation
 Unified China & country is named after dynasty
 Legalism
 Terracotta Army (include 4 facts)
 Building of the Great Wall- built out of compressed earth and planks- millions
died building the wall. (Include 2 facts)
 Two other interesting facts about the dynasty
Group Three- Han Dynasty
 Map & approximate years in power
 Han emperors rejected Legalism & implement rule based on Confucianism
 Silk Road established Buddhism reaches China
 Han Dynasty was so respected; many Chinese today call themselves people of the
Han.
 Inventions: Sundial, wheel barrel, paper & seismograph
 Chinese Examination System
 Philosophic ideas of Dynasty are bases Confucianism
 How did your dynasty keep out “nomadic tribes from the north”, did they fortify
the great wall, use diplomacy and trade with the northern tribes allowing the wall
to fall in decay or go to war with the them?
 Two other interesting facts about the dynasty
Group Four- Tang & Song
 Map & approximate years in power
 Based on Confucianism
 Golden Ages- (explain why it is called Golden Ages)
 Moved capital to Xian, center of trade, Silk Road-Significance?
 Islam comes to East Asia (via silk road)
 Four Great Inventions: gunpowder, compass, papermaking & printing –
Legacy/Significance?
 Tang emperors used diplomacy (instead of the Great Wall) to keep invaders out of
China.
 Civil Service Exams & Philosophic ideas of Dynasty are bases Confucianism
 How did your dynasty keep out “nomadic tribes from the north”, did they fortify
the great wall, use diplomacy and trade with the northern tribes allowing the wall
to fall in decay or go to war with the them?
 Two other interesting facts about the dynasty
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Group Five-Yuan- Foreign Invasion- Mongolians
 Map & approximate years in power- (largest Empire in the World)
 Founder Kublai Khan (grandson of Genghis Khan)
 Great Wall of China had fallen in decay; Mongolians were able to invade.
 Marco Polo- visits from Europe and writes of the Great Chinese DynastyLegacy/Significance?
 Opened Trade routes within Mongolian Empire- increased Trade & profits
 Inventions: Paper Money
 Two other interesting facts about the dynasty
Group 6-Ming Dynasty
 Map & approximate years in power
 Based on Confucianism
 Re-built the Great Wall of China out of stone
 Expands the Exam System & civil service System
 Beijing as the Capital
 Construction of the Forbidden City & Imperial Palace- Legacy/Significance?
 Describe in detail the Forbidden Palace (size, map of the palace, how many
emperors lived in palace,)
 Why was it called the Forbidden Palace? What is it today?
 European explorer- Vasco de Gama reached the port of Canton in China.
Legacy/Significance?
 Love Affair brings and end to Dynasty- invaders are allowed into the capital.
(Great Wall was built, but foreigners were allowed in.)
 Two other interesting facts about the dynasty
Group 7-Qing Dynasty- Foreign Invaders- Manchurians- Last great Dynasty
 Map & approximate years in power
 Manchurian leaders had their own language and customs- believed they were
superior to the Chinese; didn’t allow for intermixing with Chinese subjects.
 Keep Confucianism ideas.
 Great Wall Falls into ruins again; invaders were already in China.
 What was the Manchu Queue? How was it enforced?
 Limited trade and contact with the West (Europe)
Empress Dowager & Pu Yi (the last emperor of China)
 Who was Empress Dowager Cixi?
 What role did she play in selecting the last emperor of China, Pu Yi?
 Two other interesting facts about the dynasty
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Grading= 15 points
1-3 points: Group covered all of the required information.
1-3 points: Visuals were used for each piece of required information
1-3points: Slides were visually appealing; images and font styles were large and clear.
1-3 points: Students showed knowledge of the information during the presentation.
1-3 Points: Students used 95% of each slide effectively.
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